Kiss Me Deadly
by Pikapox
Summary: Cambridge, Massachusetts, is an unlikely place for the zombie apocalypse to begin. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, two graduate students at MIT with no survival skills to speak of, have to depend on each other if they ever want to make it out of Cambridge alive. Science Boyfriends. College!AU. Zombies. Warnings: violence, multiple character deaths.


A/N: This is a college!AU, zombie apocalypse, Science Boyfriends story, and I am drawing inspiration exclusively from a lovely subgenre of rock called ska (that everyone should listen to right now). I'm going for a real particular feel, y'all. MAJOR WARNINGS: character death, some gore and violence, sad times ahead.

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_My my my, how the time must fly  
When you know you're gonna die by the end of the night_

The bar was seedy and the music was loud and shitty, just the way Bruce liked it. The smell of cigarettes and spilled beer was almost overwhelming, but it was such a refreshing change from the strong, clean smells of the laboratory he spent so much time in that he didn't really mind.

Here, he could disappear. He could sip on a drink at a table in the back while Betty danced with her friends, and no one would bother him, and no one would blame him for not thinking for a few precious hours before it was back to the lab for another week.

Graduate school sucked, sometimes. But it would be worth it. Bruce's undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering was pretty useless without a graduate degree, so he'd pretty much been forced to sign on for a few more years of school.

Which was okay, he told himself this time and every other time before, even though graduate school had apparently awakened some underlying rage issues that resulted in Bruce practically destroying the biomed laboratory at his undergraduate school… hence the transfer to a different university to complete his Master's, hence the crippling debt (who knew laboratory equipment was expensive as hell, right?), hence the twice-weekly court-mandated anger management counseling.

At least Betty didn't leave him. At least he only transferred to the other side of town, because if he weren't able to see Betty on the weekends, he'd probably be the textbook definition of a "hermit." He didn't really have any friends of his own, but according to the transitive property all of Betty's friends were his friends too, so it wasn't so bad.

"Dance with me," Betty whispered sweetly into his ear, "I've missed you all week." He'd been deep in thought and hadn't even seen her leave the dance floor, but he smiled against her thick, dark hair.

"You know I have two left feet," he said.

"I know, and I don't care," she replied with a pout, "I just… I know the change has been hard for you, and I want to see you actually do something fun. Dance with me?"

Bruce made a noncommittal noise, but knew she'd have him up on the dance floor in a few minutes. Betty grabbed him by the hand, and Bruce felt a random surge of affection. He squeezed her hand tight and took a sip of his drink.

"We'll wait for a slow song," she chirped, "Don't want you to hurt yourself." Secretly, Bruce was relieved. Swaying back and forth for a few minutes he could do, but skanking was a little out of his comfort zone.

Luckily, after a couple more frantic songs, the band slowed down a bit. Betty pulled him out to the dance floor, looking every bit as alluring as she had on the first day they met. He put his hands low on her hips and she laced her fingers together behind his neck, and they danced.

"Love you, Bruce Banner," Betty said, and her eyes were bright and sad.

"I love you, Betty Ross," Bruce said right back, and he kissed her, because he hated the look in her eyes and the knot in his gut. He was never much for public displays of affection, but he could make an exception, just this one time, because the pull was too strong and after all, it would be another week before he got to see Betty again.

Another dancing couple bumped into them, and Bruce immediately stammered an apology. They were clearly overdressed for the bar, the tall red-head in heels and a slinky dress and her dark-haired dancing partner in slacks and a vest. Bruce and Betty were both in jeans.

"Oh, it's fine," the red-head said sweetly, "No need to apologize, it's a pretty crowded floor."

"I love your dress!" Betty gushed, and the red-head blushed gracefully, "Thanks, it was a gift." She gestured to the suited-up guy she'd been dancing with.

"This is Tony, and I'm Pepper," she said. Tony lifted a hand as if to acknowledge the introduction, but he was looking elsewhere and didn't seem to be too interested in making new friends.

"I'm Betty," Betty said, then gave Bruce a small nudge. It was something she did sometimes to try and encourage Bruce to talk.

"Bruce," he said, offering a hand to Pepper, who looked surprised, but she shook it anyway. Social skills were not his strong suit, and besides… people who dressed up that nice shook hands, even if they were at lame bars, right?

"So are you guys students?" Pepper asks, clearly in the mood to make conversation. Her date was still scanning the room, looking for someone.

Betty nods and proudly declares, "Bruce actually just started grad school in biomedical engineering at MIT."

Tony is suddenly very interested.

"Wait, are you the same Bruce that went ape shit and destroyed that lab at Harvard?" he asks, "Because if that's the case, then I need to shake your hand." Pepper rolls her eyes, but Tony grabs Bruce's hand and shakes it vigorously.

"You, my friend, are a symbol of hope for everyone who's ever felt trapped in a university-funded lab," he says. "Man, it must just be… _cathartic_ to tear into it like that."

Bruce is… taken aback, confused about whether or not he should be offended. "Thanks," he says. "I… do what I can."

"Tony Stark," Tony says, "I'm at MIT as well. Mechanical engineering." Bruce and Betty both instantly recognize the name of course, but neither of them say anything. It explains the fancy clothes. Tony seems to be waiting for Bruce to say something about his last name, but Bruce remains silent on the subject.

Pepper leans over to whisper something in Tony's ear, and points to the other side of the room. "Oh, that's the guy we're looking for," Tony says. And with a sidelong glance, adds, "Bruce, I expect to see you around. Come find me at the mech lab and we can talk science." Pepper and Betty wave and exchange niceties before Pepper and Tony begin wading through the dance floor to meet whoever they were here to meet.

"That was weird," Betty says. "That was… you know that was Tony Stark, right?"

"Yeah," Bruce responds, as blown away as Betty sounded, "Yeah, that was weird." His eyes trail after the well-dressed couple out of curiosity. Across the bar, he can see that they're speaking solemnly to an athletic-looking couple in plain clothes. The four of them leave together, and Tony catches Bruce's eye and offers him a half-wave. Bruce lifts his hand lamely in response, although by the time he does, the group is out the door.

"Wow, I think he likes you," Betty says.

"I think he likes the fact that I destroyed a lab with my bare hands," Bruce replies matter-of-factly.

"Well, maybe…," The rest of night is kind of listless after that, like Tony and Pepper took all the excitement with them when they left. Betty and Bruce both agreed that when you meet a major celebrity at a dive bar, it's time to call it a night. With a quick kiss, Bruce parts ways with his girlfriend for another week.

"See you soon, babe," Betty says as she heads for her front door, and Bruce watches her until she disappears into her apartment.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed, please review!


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